The SEC has been keen to stress that ICOs are securities and must thus be registered with the agency.

Despite this emphasis on the importance of proper regulation, SEC Director Brett Redfearn has revealed a distinct lack of self-reporting amongst crypto exchanges.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has gone to great lengths in the past months to emphasise that ICOs must categorically be viewed as securities, and that exchanges which trade the assets must thus register themselves with the agency.

Despite this stress on proper regulation, however, one director has spoken out about his surprise with regards to the lack of self-reporting taking place. Brett Redfearn, who is employed by the division of trading and markets, revealed to CNBC:

“We’re underwhelmed by the enthusiasm for coming within the regulatory structure right now.”

Brett Redfearn

Speaking at the Sandler O’Neill Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference on Wednesday, the director added that:

“There are a number of exchanges that are trading ICOs [so] I would think that we would see more registrations.”

“We regulate the offering of that security and regulate the trading of that security.”

Jay Clayton

The categorisation of an asset as a security is determined by a form of grading known as the ‘Howey Test’, which is taken from a 1946 ruling by the Supreme Court. This makes it clear that any investment of money in a common enterprise in which the investor expects to profit from another’s effort must always be viewed as such.

As Redfearn explains:

“We’ve created this pronged test, the Howey Test, where people look at the different characteristics and determine if it’s a security. Quite frankly not all of them are obvious on its face exactly what it is.”

Brett Redfearn

Redfearn declined to comment on whether popular digital currencies like ethereum and XRP belonged to the same classification, saying instead that there would be statements on “at least one of those products forthcoming in the future.”

Decentralized Exchange Kyber Network Adds Fiat-to-Crypto Support

Clients can use the exchange's website or iOS and Android mobile applications.

Decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) Kyber Network has announced support for a new fiat-to-crypto gateway that will allow users to directly purchase Ethereum's ether.

Fiat to Ether DEX Support

According to the announcement, Kyber Network has become the first DEX to support the direct purchasing of ether using fiat. The release claims that clients can use either debit or credit cards in the purchase of ETH, in addition to instituting a low minimum purchase of 15 EUR per transaction.

Support for the new feature comes after KyberSwap’s recent partnership with Coindirect.com, a third-party service backed by MakerDAO which allows for the purchase of crypto via fiat. Kyber Network says they were prompted to implement crypto for fiat purchases as a way for new users to have easier access to ether,

“Everyone needs to first buy Ether (ETH) from somewhere, whether to trade or to use DeFi (decentralized finance) applications...Generally the first step is the hardest, but it’s even harder when it comes to buying cryptocurrency.”

The new gateway will be available through the DEX’s official website in addition to the iOS and Android mobile applications.